This LSU video is brilliant, but not for the reason you probably think it is

Zach Barnett

7 months ago

LSU was supposed to play in Houston on Saturday. As we all know, that isn’t happening.

Aside from being the season-opener and a slobber-knocker of a game, LSU’s date with BYU at NRG Stadium was supposed to be a special occasion because it was a homecoming of sorts for much of the roster.

As such, LSU has dedicated Saturday night’s game to Houston and Southeast Texas, and the program released the following video:

It’s a good video, a measure of attention and support at a time when it’s impossible to have too much of either.

But it’s also a brilliant recruiting video. LSU has 22 native Texans on its roster, 11 of them from areas affected by Hurricane Harvey. As the video plays, the underlying message dons on the viewer: “Hey, look at all these highly-recruited Houston and Southeast Texas players that play for LSU!” The video features nine players; seven of them were 4-star recruits. And if all that slips by you, fine. You weren’t the intended audience anyway.

To be clear, I’m not accusing any nefarious ulterior motives here on LSU’s part. Of course these guys would want to provide a message of support to their hometowns, and of course LSU would want to help them do that.

But that’s why it’s such an effective recruiting video, because it’s not a recruiting video in the first place.